SEATTLE WASHINGTON BUILDING EXPERT
DIRECTORY AND CAPABILITIES

Medical Center Builder Sues Contracting Agent, Citing Costly Delays

March 19, 2014 — Beverley BevenFlorez-CDJ STAFF
The Pennsylvania firm Bedwell Co. “has sued the Camden County Improvement Authority, saying it is owed $4.6 million for construction of [the Cooper Medical School of Rowan University]” in Camden, New Jersey, according to the Courier-Post. The Bedwell Co. alleges that its expenses exceeded fifty million, “but that it has been paid only $46 million.” The lawsuit states, as quoted by the Courier-Post, “From its inception, the project was plagued by delays due to defects in the design document and other circumstances that were beyond Bedwell’s control.” Furthermore, there were “an abnormally large quantity of design changes, schedule disputes, schedule disruptions and work-activity interference.” “Representatives of the CCIA and HDR could not be reached for comment Wednesday,” according to the Courier-Post. “Bedwell declined to comment on the allegations in the suit.” Read the court decision
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Pay-if-Paid Clauses, Nasty, but Enforceable

March 12, 2015 — Craig Martin – Construction Contractor Advisor
I am preparing for a presentation this week on Troublesome Contract Clauses to the Construction Specifications Institute (“CSI”), Nebraska Chapter. One of the clauses we will be discussing is the dreaded Pay-if-Paid clause, a particularly nasty provision that places the risk of owner’s solvency squarely on the subcontractor’s shoulders. While pay-if-paid clauses can create tremendous problems for subcontractors, they are enforceable. Pay-if-Paid clauses eliminate the obligation to pay the subcontractor until the general contractor is paid by the owner. Pay-if-paid clauses usually contain something akin to the following phrases:

• payment to subcontractors are “expressly and unequivocally contingent upon receipt of payment from the Owner for the Subcontract Work.”
• the subcontractor “expressly acknowledges that it relies on payment under the Subcontract on the creditworthiness of Owner, not that of the General Contractor.”
• the owner’s acceptance of the work and payment to the General Contractor are “conditions precedent to any obligation of the General Contractor to pay the subcontractor.”

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Reprinted courtesy of Craig Martin, Lamson, Dugan and Murray, LLP
Mr. Martin may be contacted at cmartin@ldmlaw.com

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How Mansions Can Intensify Wildfires

May 30, 2022 — Todd Woody - Bloomberg
A neighborhood of $4 million homes that burned Wednesday in a Southern California wildfire highlights the vulnerability of large suburban dwellings to climate-driven blazes, according to fire experts. The Coastal Fire destroyed at least 20 homes in a gated community in Laguna Niguel, a wealthy Orange County enclave near Laguna Beach. Houses in the Coronado Pointe development line a ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Homes in the neighborhood are palatial, ranging in size from about 4,000 square feet to 10,000 square feet, and sit on large lots with room for swimming pools with coastal views. But the mansions are wedged together with relatively little space between buildings. When a fire broke out near a wastewater treatment plant on Wednesday, it raced up a chaparral-covered hillside until it encountered an explosive source of fuel – Coronado Pointe. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Todd Woody, Bloomberg

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Pennsylvania Supreme Court Adopts New Rule in Breach-of-the-Consent-to-Settle-Clause Cases

August 19, 2015 — Sean Mahoney – White and Williams LLP
In Babcock & Wilcox Company, et al. v. America Nuclear Insurers, et al., the Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently held that where a liability insurer has agreed to provide a defense to its insured in an underlying tort action subject to a reservation of rights but refuses to consent to a settlement in that action, the insured may nevertheless accept the settlement over the insurer’s objection where the settlement is “fair, reasonable, and non-collusive” from the perspective of a reasonably prudent person in the insured’s position in light of the totality of the circumstances and is covered. Babcock & Wilcox Company v. America Nuclear Insurers, No. 2 WAP 2014, 2015 WL 4430352 (Pa. Jul. 21, 2015). This decision fills an important gap in Pennsylvania precedent addressing the rules applicable when an insurer refuses to consent to an insured’s settlement of a lawsuit. In Babcock, the underlying plaintiffs sued Babcock & Wilcox Company and Atlantic Richfield Company (“the Insureds”) alleging that the Insured’s nuclear facilities caused bodily injury and property damage. The Insureds’ liability insurers agreed to defend the Insureds subject to a reservation of rights. The insurers later refused to consent to an offer to settle the underlying action for a total of $80 million because they believed the Insureds were likely to succeed on the merits. Nevertheless, in 2009, the Insureds accepted that offer and settled the underlying action for $80 million, notwithstanding the insurer’s refusal. The Insureds then sought reimbursement of the $80 million settlement from their insurers, who rejected that request on the ground that the Insureds had breached the consent-to-settlement/cooperation provisions of the implicated policies. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Sean Mahoney, White and Williams LLP
Mr. Mahoney may be contacted at mahoneys@whiteandwilliams.com

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NYC Shuts 9 Pre-Kindergartens for Health, Safety Issues

September 03, 2014 — Henry Goldman – Bloomberg
New York City won’t permit nine of 1,700 planned pre-kindergarten centers to open because of health and safety shortcomings and will delay use of 36 others for incomplete construction, officials in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration said. The announcement in an e-mail from the mayor’s press office came two days before the city was to embark on de Blasio’s signature policy initiative to offer free universal pre-school to the city’s 4-year-olds starting with more than 50,000 this year and expanding to more than 70,000 next year. The nine shuttered schools each raised health and safety concerns after they were examined by building inspectors, fire officials and the Health Department, said Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for the mayor. Of the 236 students enrolled for those locations, officials had found alternatives for 83. The city is working with parents to find other schools for the rest, Norvell said. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Henry Goldman, Bloomberg
Mr. Goldman may be contacted at hgoldman@bloomberg.net

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Two New Developments in Sanatoga, Pennsylvania

October 22, 2013 — CDJ STAFF
The final touches are being put on two developments in Sanatoga, Pennsylvania. Southview, the larger of the two, comprises 35 single-family homes. Brookside comprises 16 single-family homes. During the next 18 months, the developers of the two communities will be responsible for the community improvements. If, after 18 months, these pass inspection, the township’s engineering firm will recommend that Sanatoga take responsibility for upkeep. Read the court decision
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Mediation in the Zero Sum World of Construction

September 26, 2022 — Christopher G. Hill - Construction Law Musings
Construction is a zero sum game. What do I mean by that? I mean that even where you, a construction professional with a great construction lawyer, have reviewed and edited a subcontract presented to you or provided a well-drafted contract to the other party that contains an attorney fees provision, every dollar that you spend on litigation is a dollar less of profit. Couple the fact that no construction company can or should bid or negotiate work with an eye toward litigation (aside from having a well written contract that will be enforced to the letter here in Virginia). Particularly on “low bid” type projects, contractors and subcontractors cannot “pad” their bids to take into account the possibility of attorney fees, arbitration, or litigation. Furthermore, the loss of productivity when your “back office” personnel are tied up dealing with discovery, phone calls, and other incidents of litigation that do nothing but rehash a bad project and increase the expense sap money from the bottom line. While the possibility of a judgment including attorney fees may soften this blow, you are still out the cash. All of this said, if you are in commercial construction for any significant period of time disputes will arise and I have discussed the process in some detail at other places here at Construction Law Musings. As a construction litigator, I am fully aware of this fact of life. Efficient management of these disputes is key, particularly when they escalate to the point where some form of outside “help” (read arbitrator or judge) is necessary. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of The Law Office of Christopher G. Hill
Mr. Hill may be contacted at chrisghill@constructionlawva.com

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Baltimore Bridge Collapse Occurred After Ship Lost Power Multiple Times

May 28, 2024 — Allyson Versprille - Bloomberg
The container ship that rammed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March lost power multiple times on both the day of the fatal accident and the day before, according to a preliminary report. The Dali, which sails under the flag of Singapore, lost power twice on March 26 before hitting the bridge and causing it to collapse, killing six construction workers who were on the structure at the time. The first blackout was caused when electrical breakers powering most of the vessel’s equipment and lighting unexpectedly tripped, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report Tuesday. The crew eventually was able to restore electrical power, but then a second blackout occurred only 0.2 miles from the bridge. They regained power, but the ship lacked the propulsion needed to avoid striking the bridge, safety inspectors found. Read the court decision
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Reprinted courtesy of Allyson Versprille, Bloomberg

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